Improvement in pipe-stems



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS W. BALL, OF JERSEY CITY NEW J ERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN PIPE-STEMS.

' Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 194,545, dated August28, 1877; application filed July 2, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. BALL, of Jersey City, in the county ofHudson and State of New Jersey, have invented an improvement in Stemsfor Tobacco-Pipes, of which the following is a specification Stems fortobacco-pipes have been made. of various materials, and when made ofwood the hole through the stem is always straight. Pipe-stems of rubber,horn, clay, 850., have been made in a curved form by bending while in asoft and pliable condition, and when finished are connected with thepipe by screw or suitable fitting.

My invention consists in a stem and mouthpiece made of one piece ofwood, having a hole longitudinally through it, and curved between thepart used by the mouth and the connection thereof with the pipe.

This is a new, useful, cheap, strong, and do.- rable article ofmanufacture.

The stem is made of a piece of straight wood, a hole being bored throughthe center a. The outside may be plain or ornamental, one end, I),having a screw or fitting to connect it with the bowl of the pipe, theother end, 0, being curved and adapted to the mouth.

The stem is bent at 0 between the mouth part c and the fitting b, sothat it forms a suitable angle to the straight portion of the stem. Thisis accomplished by softening the wood by steam and bending it betweendies to the desired shape.

Care must be taken to bore the Wood with a clean cut in making the hole,so that it will not be filled up or be partially closed when the fibersare softened by the steam or the stem bent by the dies.

The bent portion of the pipestem and the mouthpiece will be smoothed offand flattened,

. so as to be more easilyheld between the lips.

and teeth.

I claim as my invention As a new article of manufacture, the pipestemmade of one piece of wood with a hole through it, and having the plugmouth-piece and bend, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 28th day of June A. D. 1877.

THOS. W. BALL.

Witnesses GEO. '1. PINGKNEY, WIILIAM G. MOTT.

